The August issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction is another fine one. All but one of the stories got a "Very Good" from me and that one story was only a little disappointing.

"Penultima Thule" by Chris Willrich is another adventure featuring Persimmon Gaunt (a poet) and her lover, Imago Bone. They are in possession of a cursed book which is very dangerous and they must travel to the edge of the world to get rid of it. How this happens makes for a fascinating tale. "Okanoggan Falls" by Carolyn Ives Gilman tells us of a small town in Wisconsin on an Earth which has been taken over by aliens. The townspeople have been told that the town must be abandoned because the aliens must strip-mine the area. One woman attempts to communicate with the alien commander with interesting results. "Pleased to Meetcha" by Ken Altabef is an amusing tale about a budding author who meets a very successful writer that he admires. What happens gives an amusing answer to a question frequently asked of writers. "Immortal Forms" is another fine story by Albert E. Cowdrey, set again in New Orleans. Tommy Salvati inherits a house from an old woman that he knew but who had spent her last years in madness. One of the rooms is haunted by a malevolent spirit. The reason for this and how things are eventually resolved make for a chilling story.

"Jack B. Goode and the Neo-Modern Prometheus" by Robert Loy is a hilarious story about a detective trying to find the very unusual husband of a very unusual woman. This is also a great story for fans of puns. "Misjudgment Day" by Robert Reed is an interesting variant on the old idea that "in the kingdom of the blind, a one-eyed man is king". But in this case, it has to do with people's ability to judge their actions. Once again Reed gives us a story that no one else could have written. "Billy and the Spaceman" is another one of Terry Bisson funny little stories about a boy named Billy who encounters a strange creature. This time, it's a man from space.

The only story that I liked a little less than the others is "Another Word for Map is Faith" by Christopher Rowe. It gives us a glimpse of a strange future in which Christianity has somehow come to regard maps as holy writ. I am sure this is meant as some kind of metaphor for Fundamentalism but Rowe does not make me believe this world for a minute. It may just be me, but his stories do not impress me the way they apparently do others.

Nonetheless, this issue is well worth picking up for the Cowdrey story alone.

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